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ASHTON MOSS / THE ARGUS
Volume 119 | Issue 20 blogs.iwu.edu/argus/ April 5, 2013
Following a win against Wheaton, Titan baseball beats Millikin to put them 5-0 in the CCIW conference.
SPORTS, P. 10
Take the time to vote in the upcoming local election
OPINIONS, P. 8
IWU Peace Garden prospers
FEATURES, P. 7
While Colorado may be nearly a thousand miles away, the Au­rora shooting reverberated across the nation.
In light of the shooter’s up­coming trial, the Illinois Wesley­an University trial law class has been using his case as the basis for their entire class.
In the final weeks of the se­mester, this will culminate in a mock trial.
On Friday, July 20, 2012, a gunman opened fire on the au­dience at a midnight showing of the movie “The Dark Knight Rises,” leaving 12 people dead and 58 injured.
James Eagan Holmes, a for­mer University of Colorado Den­ver neuroscience doctoral stu­dent, was arrested that night in the parking lot of the Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colorado. 10 days later, Holmes was charged with 24 counts of murder and 116 counts of attempted murder.
Now, over eight months later, Holmes was informed that he will face execution if convicted.
George Brauchler, one of the prosecutors in this case, said, “For James Eagan Holmes, jus­tice is death.”
Marcus Weaver, one of the sur­vivors of the shooting, demanded Holmes enter a guilty plea so the families and survivors “can all move forward.”
To avoid the death sentence likely to be sought by the pros­ecution, it is anticipated that Holmes’ attorneys will seek an insanity plea, claiming Holmes was legally insane at the time of the shooting.
“Holmes and mental illness are the main culprits,” said Mat­thew Rooney, a junior in the IWU trial law class. “No one who isn’t mentally ill would have been able to go through with such a heinous crime like this one.
“That said, there are ways to control mental illness, and not all mentally unstable people are mass murderers, so the major­ity of the blame has to fall on Holmes.”
Prior to the shooting, Holmes stockpiled over 6,000 rounds of ammunition and four firearms. He also booby-trapped his apart­ment to explode if triggered.
According to an FBI state­ment, Holmes’ plan was to create a distraction, bringing the police to his home and leaving fewer re­sources at the theater four miles away.
Dr. Robert Kearney, the pro­fessor of Illinois Wesleyan Uni­versity’s trial law class, has cho­sen to shadow the Aurora case.
He said that he selects a high profile court case and the class will litigate throughout the se­mester.
Students will wrestle with contemporary issues like “where guns fit into our society, espe­cially where there are so many regional differences concerning guns, and how they are protected by the second amendment,” Ke­arney said.
The question remains as to whether third parties should share some responsibility.
Kearney said, “We can all have opinions, but in our system, the jury has the final call because the jury represents all of us.”
Dr. Kearney has his Juris Doc­tor from Notre Dame and prac­ticed law before joining the IWU faculty.
On Wednesday, April 24, the class will conduct an unscripted trial in front of McLean County Judge Robb and a community representative jury.
Plaintiffs are seeking through a trial by jury “$800,000,000 in compensation to redress victim injuries and any other remedies the court deems appropriate.”
Included in the trial will be witnesses played by IWU stu­dents. Also testifying will be an Illinois State University psychol­ogy specialist in adult aggression to evaluate the mental state of Holmes and a United States army private to offer testimony on marketing military-style weap­ons to the public.
IWU students are getting a first-hand experience of civil liti­gation, determining negligence and liability of corporations rather than the yet undetermined guilt or innocence of Holmes.
In their trial, they are sepa­rated into four legal teams: a plaintiff representing the vic­tims and three defense councils each representing a potentially liable corporation – Smith &
BREXTON ISAACS
STAFF REPORTER
IWU hosts mayor debate
On Thursday, March 28, the Illinois Wesleyan University College Democrats, College Re­publicans and Pi Sigma Alpha hosted a mayoral debate for the Bloomington candidates in the Hansen Student Center.
All three candidates, Tari Renner, John Hanson and Lex Green, participated and an­swered the student-moderated questions.
The candidates touched on a variety of topics, including questions about the west side of Bloomington, fiscal responsibil­ity, development of the down­town area, a long-term water supply and youth engagement in the community.
Approximately 175 commu­nity members and 40 students were in the audience, including College Republican Doug Bur­richter and College Democrat Ryan Winter.
“Renner opened his mouth, and from that point on, he con­trolled the tempo of the debate and captured attention of the au­dience for the entire hour,” Bur­richter said.
Winter, a College Democrat who is a junior political sci­ence and history double major, agreed with Burrichter.
“I thought Renner came off as a much more forceful and purposeful candidate,” Winter said. “I believe that Green and Hanson truly love this town, but they did not present any clear examples of what they would actually do as mayor.”
College Democrats president Brexton Isaacs, College Repub­licans president Casey Plach and Pi Sigma Alpha president Zoe Gross wrote the questions and moderated the debate. All three were first-time moderators.
The Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colorado reopened recently after a great deal of remodel­ing inside, but this opening was still met with a great deal of controversy from the community.
Law class tries shooting case
REBEKAH SMITH
STAFF REPORTER
SEE SHOOTING P. 4
SEE MAYOR P. 4

Argus issues published from 1894-Spring 2003 were scanned at 600 dpi on a NM1000-SS scanner by Northern Micrographics, La Crosse, Wisconsin. Fulltext OCR was accomplished by the same company in Summer 2009. Issues published from the fall of 2003-present are born-digital.

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Full Text

ASHTON MOSS / THE ARGUS
Volume 119 | Issue 20 blogs.iwu.edu/argus/ April 5, 2013
Following a win against Wheaton, Titan baseball beats Millikin to put them 5-0 in the CCIW conference.
SPORTS, P. 10
Take the time to vote in the upcoming local election
OPINIONS, P. 8
IWU Peace Garden prospers
FEATURES, P. 7
While Colorado may be nearly a thousand miles away, the Au­rora shooting reverberated across the nation.
In light of the shooter’s up­coming trial, the Illinois Wesley­an University trial law class has been using his case as the basis for their entire class.
In the final weeks of the se­mester, this will culminate in a mock trial.
On Friday, July 20, 2012, a gunman opened fire on the au­dience at a midnight showing of the movie “The Dark Knight Rises,” leaving 12 people dead and 58 injured.
James Eagan Holmes, a for­mer University of Colorado Den­ver neuroscience doctoral stu­dent, was arrested that night in the parking lot of the Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colorado. 10 days later, Holmes was charged with 24 counts of murder and 116 counts of attempted murder.
Now, over eight months later, Holmes was informed that he will face execution if convicted.
George Brauchler, one of the prosecutors in this case, said, “For James Eagan Holmes, jus­tice is death.”
Marcus Weaver, one of the sur­vivors of the shooting, demanded Holmes enter a guilty plea so the families and survivors “can all move forward.”
To avoid the death sentence likely to be sought by the pros­ecution, it is anticipated that Holmes’ attorneys will seek an insanity plea, claiming Holmes was legally insane at the time of the shooting.
“Holmes and mental illness are the main culprits,” said Mat­thew Rooney, a junior in the IWU trial law class. “No one who isn’t mentally ill would have been able to go through with such a heinous crime like this one.
“That said, there are ways to control mental illness, and not all mentally unstable people are mass murderers, so the major­ity of the blame has to fall on Holmes.”
Prior to the shooting, Holmes stockpiled over 6,000 rounds of ammunition and four firearms. He also booby-trapped his apart­ment to explode if triggered.
According to an FBI state­ment, Holmes’ plan was to create a distraction, bringing the police to his home and leaving fewer re­sources at the theater four miles away.
Dr. Robert Kearney, the pro­fessor of Illinois Wesleyan Uni­versity’s trial law class, has cho­sen to shadow the Aurora case.
He said that he selects a high profile court case and the class will litigate throughout the se­mester.
Students will wrestle with contemporary issues like “where guns fit into our society, espe­cially where there are so many regional differences concerning guns, and how they are protected by the second amendment,” Ke­arney said.
The question remains as to whether third parties should share some responsibility.
Kearney said, “We can all have opinions, but in our system, the jury has the final call because the jury represents all of us.”
Dr. Kearney has his Juris Doc­tor from Notre Dame and prac­ticed law before joining the IWU faculty.
On Wednesday, April 24, the class will conduct an unscripted trial in front of McLean County Judge Robb and a community representative jury.
Plaintiffs are seeking through a trial by jury “$800,000,000 in compensation to redress victim injuries and any other remedies the court deems appropriate.”
Included in the trial will be witnesses played by IWU stu­dents. Also testifying will be an Illinois State University psychol­ogy specialist in adult aggression to evaluate the mental state of Holmes and a United States army private to offer testimony on marketing military-style weap­ons to the public.
IWU students are getting a first-hand experience of civil liti­gation, determining negligence and liability of corporations rather than the yet undetermined guilt or innocence of Holmes.
In their trial, they are sepa­rated into four legal teams: a plaintiff representing the vic­tims and three defense councils each representing a potentially liable corporation – Smith &
BREXTON ISAACS
STAFF REPORTER
IWU hosts mayor debate
On Thursday, March 28, the Illinois Wesleyan University College Democrats, College Re­publicans and Pi Sigma Alpha hosted a mayoral debate for the Bloomington candidates in the Hansen Student Center.
All three candidates, Tari Renner, John Hanson and Lex Green, participated and an­swered the student-moderated questions.
The candidates touched on a variety of topics, including questions about the west side of Bloomington, fiscal responsibil­ity, development of the down­town area, a long-term water supply and youth engagement in the community.
Approximately 175 commu­nity members and 40 students were in the audience, including College Republican Doug Bur­richter and College Democrat Ryan Winter.
“Renner opened his mouth, and from that point on, he con­trolled the tempo of the debate and captured attention of the au­dience for the entire hour,” Bur­richter said.
Winter, a College Democrat who is a junior political sci­ence and history double major, agreed with Burrichter.
“I thought Renner came off as a much more forceful and purposeful candidate,” Winter said. “I believe that Green and Hanson truly love this town, but they did not present any clear examples of what they would actually do as mayor.”
College Democrats president Brexton Isaacs, College Repub­licans president Casey Plach and Pi Sigma Alpha president Zoe Gross wrote the questions and moderated the debate. All three were first-time moderators.
The Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colorado reopened recently after a great deal of remodel­ing inside, but this opening was still met with a great deal of controversy from the community.
Law class tries shooting case
REBEKAH SMITH
STAFF REPORTER
SEE SHOOTING P. 4
SEE MAYOR P. 4